National Plan for Vacation Day was Tuesday, Jan. 28, but there's still time to celebrate. To help drive winter bookings and support this initiative, Travel Oregon and the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association invited lodging properties across Oregon to join this national campaign by offering a 20% discount to anyone who books their vacation on Jan. 28-31 for a future stay. 

Check out the participating properties and book your Oregon stay today. 

On Jan. 27, Brand USA announced the appointment of three new members and the reappointment of two current members to its board of directors. The 11-member board appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security now includes Travel Oregon's CEO, Todd Davidson. Todd represents one of two seats for an official from a state tourism office. 

Read the official release and see the full board of directors, here.

Travel Oregon is now accepting applications for Oregon Wine Country License Plates Matching Grants funding. The program awards grants to eligible applicants for projects that promote wine and culinary tourism. Recent awarded projects have included: event promotion, digital marketing upgrades, winery visitor research and food trail maps/passports.

Applicants may apply for grants up to $50,000 for projects that promote wine and/or culinary tourism. Applicants must demonstrate a one-to-one match with at least 50% of matching funds being cash. Download the Wine Country Plates Matching Grants Guidelines for specific eligibility requirements and to view the application questions.

Registration is now open for the first-ever Oregon Rural Tourism Conference, a rural-focused conference that delivers practical and applicable education, collaboration and networking opportunities that support Oregon’s destination marketing and management organizations, businesses and industry partners that work in rural communities. The conference is at Sunriver Resort in Central Oregon, April 26-28.

If you’re interested in being a conference sponsor or exhibitor, contact Lisa Itel. 

Contact events@traveloregon.com if you have any questions about Travel Oregon's conferences.